


Flame In The Blood

by belladonawritings



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alpha Lexa, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Medical Examination, Medical Experimentation, Medical Torture, Molestation, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Clarke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-02
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-27 23:40:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 14,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10057214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/belladonawritings/pseuds/belladonawritings
Summary: Lexa makes a mistake, and it costs her her freedom - but even in a cage, or a cell, she's still going to find a way to control the situation and free her people. Things change in the Mountain, however, when a ship of juvenile delinquents crash close by, and one of them is thrown into Lexa's cell with her. Her name is Clarke, and unfortunately for both of them, she's an Omega. Clexa, ABO, in-progress.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Chaptertwister93!
> 
> TW: imprisonment.

                The nightly routine began with a shift in the lights, barely noticeable at first, then darkening ever more swiftly with every second. I folded my legs and counted. On the count of 50, she came, and the tray clattered across the floor in the false twilight.

                “Good evening, Heda,” came the soft greeting.

                I nodded in return. She could see me, and even though I never let on, I could see her too, even through the mirrored glass. She was about fifteen or sixteen, with dark hair and a fragile, frightened face. Mountain Man to the core. “Good evening, Maya.”

                There was a rustle as she sat down in front of the door. I resisted the urge to smile. Even in my prison, even trapped away from the earth and skies and rivers, trapped away from my people, there were little things to keep me sane. “What’s it like outside?” she asked timidly.

                The question brought up thousands of memories, none of them mine. I pushed them away. “Full of life,” I said. It had not always been this way. The Commanders had shown me the time before, images I could not begin to comprehend with their guidance. But there was nothing to fear anymore. _Except us,_ answered the Flame. “Life and chaos.”

                “Are there butterflies?”

                What a question! “Of course. They light up the sky at night.”

                A barely audible gasp came from the other side of the door. “They _glow?_ ”

                “Brighter than flame, and colder too.”

                I shifted, suddenly uncomfortable. I could _smell_ Maya through the door. She wasn’t like us – none of them were – but her scent still stirred something in me that was much better left alone. Of course, they hadn’t brought me here and locked me away to leave it alone. _It._ Far better to name it, but the Flame inside me flinched away from it. It – I – didn’t like the wild and animalistic side of me, although I had an inkling that were I to allow it to breathe, my animal side wouldn’t like the Flame either.

                Quite simply, I was an Alpha, driven by instinct to mate and breed and fight. But I was also the Heda, guided by the counsel of her predecessors, charged with the duty and responsibility to keep her people safe. I had ventured too close to the Mountain as Heda, trying to comprehend the force that kept my people terrified and scattered. But captured, isolated from my medicine, the Mountain Men saw me only as an interesting experiment.

                Well, most of them did. I believed Maya saw me as something more. But it didn’t matter – no matter what she saw or believed, she was one, and a child, and weak at heart. Her kindness was a light in the darkness. Nothing more.

                Suddenly, I realized that I’d lost myself in thought – and that I was alone again. “Maya?” I heard a quiver in my voice, and bit back any further words, horrified. _You are not alone,_ I reminded myself. _You have all the other Commanders to guide you._ But the human presence was gone – and then, barely a few moments later, new footsteps came ringing down the hall and through the still-open tray slot.

                I unlaced my legs from each other and stood, not rushing. If they were finally here to kill me, I would be ready – and I would not give them the benefit of seeing me panic. If they were bored of their experiment, so be it.

                The footsteps came closer, and then the door swung open, sending the tray of food flying across the room. Two Mountain Men dragged another person, a girl, forward, and shoved her inside. Then, just like that, before I could even begin to charge at the door and fight for my freedom, or do _anything,_ it closed again.

                _Stupid!_ I screamed at myself. _That was foolish, but next time you will know better,_ said the Flame. And deeper still, awakening from its slumber – _Smells good,_ said the Alpha in me.

                I raised my eyes to the girl standing in front of me. She was gagged, hands tied in front of her, but her wild blue eyes were searching me with a haunted, feral look. Fear was rolling off of her in waves, fear and anger and rage all mixed up together in an overwhelming scent that couldn’t hide the most important fact of all: she was an Omega.

                I raised my hands, and she backed away until she was pressed against the door. I made no move towards her. “I mean you no harm.”

                She narrowed her eyes, making some sort of noise that might have been words behind the cloth gag. I took a step towards her. She raised her bound hands towards me, attempting a threat. It was brave. Pointless, but brave.

                “Lower your hands. I won’t hurt you.”

                The fierce light in her eyes dimmed a little. She cast her gaze downwards slightly, fragile lashes flickering, and then lowered her fists. I took another step towards her, and another, until there was no space between us and no room to ignore her scent. Then I raised my hands to her mouth and teased the cloth gag. The moment it was free, she began coughing.

                “Is that better?”

                She nodded, tears streaming from her eyes as she licked her lips and began to breathe more easily.

                _An Omega,_ growled the Alpha voice appreciatively. “My name is Lexa,” she said calmly.

                The girl in front of her – no Outsider, and no Mountain Man either – took a deep, shuddering breath. “Clarke. My name is Clarke.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters go back and forth in the timeline - it should be fairly obvious how they go together after this chapter!
> 
> TW: forced nudity, molestation/sexual assault, blood, knives

                The blindfold blocked my sight, and the Mountain Men thought that that was enough. Even if I couldn’t smell the wrongness of them, that alone would have told me the truth – that they were unassailably different from us.

                _At least you’ve learned that much,_ I grumbled to myself. _You still got yourself caught._

“Tie her hands,” snapped a harsh voice. Male, early 50s. Smoker, although what they smoked in the Mountain I didn’t know. His voice was filtered through something. I could smell plastic, resin, gunpowder, the faint smell of my own blood.

                Another one grabbed my hands and pulled them behind me. I didn’t fight it. They’d already shot me once, lead stinging in my bicep. Blood rolled slowly down my arm, and I focused on that sensation, and then on whatever rope they had used to bind my hands. More of that plastic smell, and it grated when I tried to move my wrists. I wouldn’t be able to snap it.

                “Oh, we got a _pretty_ one.”

                _Scum,_ I thought, and debated saying.

                “Strip her.”

                I bit down on the inside of my cheek. I wouldn’t show any weakness. Besides, what was some nudity? I was still Heda. I wouldn’t stop being Heda without my clothes.

                I tried to hold onto that thought as a knife ran down my back, tip brushing against my skin. My leathers fell away, and then the knife was at my shoulders, cutting the rest of it off of me, callused hands pulling it away. The blade slipped a little, and I suppressed a wince as the tip dug into the back of my shoulder.

                The Mountain Man holding the knife wiggled it back and forth in my skin a little before removing it. I could feel the taunt in his features, even though I couldn’t see him, and then he yanked the front of my shirt away, and the brisk air was on my skin.

                _Show no fear. They don’t know anything about you. They fear you. Not the other way around._ I kept the mantra in my head. It shook, but didn’t disappear, even as his gloved hands brushed over my stomach and up, crinkling plastic cold and stiff on my breast.

                “If you want to keep that hand,” I said clearly in English, “you’ll keep it to yourself.”

                The hand vanished, then made sharp impact with my face. My head snapped back, but I kept my expression flat. “Bitch,” he growled. But he didn’t touch me again – just marched me forward.

                I didn’t smile – on the outside, anyway. But it was a victory.

                The ground underneath my feet changed as we walked – from inconsistent terrain, growing flatter and more even underneath me. I supposed they thought they’d been so clever, and without sight I couldn’t tell _exactly_ where we were, but Anya had taught me enough. With time, and with the Flame to guide me, I would be able to retrace these steps. The smell of the air was changing, too. The leaves of the forest had a scent to them I knew like the back of my hand, but that was disappearing, even though the sound of the river was still next to me and the freshness of the water hadn’t gone away.

                I wondered what it was like for them, to be so clumsily dependent on their eyes. I would have pitied them if I had any left to spare.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No new TWs for this chapter other than the ongoing imprisonment one, but given the theme of this fic I'd hope that's not an issue.

 

                “LET ME OUT!” She pounded at the door with her bound hands. She’d been trying for fifteen minutes now, and the Mountain Men standing guard outside hadn’t so much as acknowledged her. I could have told her as much, but the pheromones pouring off of her were entertaining in their own right. I’d never met an Omega outside the clans before.

                I suppose intellectually – through the Flame – I’d known there must have been life beyond the clans and the Mountain Men. The world had ended, but life persisted. It always did. But I’d expected it to – I don’t know – look different, perhaps. I certainly hadn’t expected it to be so similar. But there was no saying she really _was_ an Omega. She could just be a clever trap.

                _The Mountain Men don’t understand the way the clans work. They’re flat and empty. They don’t smell anything. They barely even see anything._ It was the Alpha speaking, but with a surprising amount of rationality.

                The Flame responded before even I could. _You can’t be too careful. They’ve got tricks you barely understand._

Clarke finally stopped pounding at the door, breathing hard and slumping a little.

                “They won’t respond,” I said finally.

                She glared at me over her shoulder. I supposed I could have opened with something a little less obvious.

Well, if I’d sent a spy in, I would have made her look _more_ harmless. Clarke had suspicious eyes, baby blue but full of shadows, and there was a tightness in her arms and shoulders that made her look more _Kongeda_ than soft and spoiled Mountain Man. Maya was good company, and the unsuppressed Alpha in me was hungry enough to almost find _her_ attractive, but this one –

                _Now stop that,_ I warned the Alpha, almost amused. Almost. It backed off with a growl.

                Clarke raised her head and sniffed the air. “It smells of alcohol in here,” she mumbled.

                _Respond? Don’t respond?_

                _It’s a simple question. Earn her trust. Don’t reveal too much about yourself,_ advised the Flame. “It’s what they clean it with.”

                Her eyes flickered to the bed in the corner, leather straps conspicuously hanging down from the sides. I didn’t acknowledge it. If she hadn’t put the pieces together by now, she would soon. I certainly had a running list of possibilities. “You’re not the same as them.”

                “No.”

                “The cages –“

                I couldn’t help it – I flinched. I could feel the Flame reprimanding me for it. Suddenly I felt very vulnerable, in my blue gown and my unbraided hair. Barely a Heda. Barely an Alpha. Just a girl. Then the moment passed, and I was the Commander again. “Yes.”

                She narrowed her eyes, but didn’t ask anything else, sitting down and staring at me. I returned the gaze with a small smile.

                _You like her,_ offered the Alpha. I pressed my lips shut, keeping the growl of appreciation inside. She was probably a spy, or a trap. But I _really_ hoped she wasn’t.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: torture, forced nudity, dehumanization

                I woke up gasping. Everything smelt _wrong._ I tried to leap to my feet – the room span, and my feet fell out from under me.

                Someone caught me. Bare hands. No plastic. “Careful now. You’re a unique specimen.”

                I lashed out with a fist. Something gave way, and I felt a rush of victory as something warm splashed onto my fingers. He swore, and I fell the rest of the way onto the cold floor. Spinning. The room kept spinning.

                _I knew the way I was supposed to know the way –_

I scrambled to my feet, and it pitched and swayed underneath me. They’d taken the rest of my clothes – that was fine, I would be fine – and I could see a door through my spiralling vision –

                - _what did they do to me-_

 _­-_ the door opened under my fingers and that was good, that didn’t make sense but good they just forgot to lock it-

                -I tumbled forward into a much larger room. The ceiling was high – I could feel the air above me already. The horrible, burning smell gave way to a much more familiar, terrifying one. Feces. Blood. Sweat. Skin.

                Among it all, mixed in like winding ribbons, were the other, subtler smells. Alpha and Beta. Azgeda. Sankru. Delfikru. But mostly Trikru, _my_ people, Trikru bleeding into tubes, Trikru in cages, Trikru holding back tears of rage and pain –

                A Mountain Man came up behind me, his heavy boots slow and loud against the concrete. “We do what we have to in order to survive,” he said. His voice was sardonic and full of a cruelty that belied his words. I could smell it on him. “Until now, we thought you were just animals _._ ”

                _Animals._ I raised my eyes to one of my people closest to me. His eyes were almost closed in pain. There were scars up and down his arm. Yet we were the animals. My fist tightened at my side until I felt my nails dig into my palm. “Until now?” I replied. I wouldn’t honour _his_ ears with the language of my people.

                “You’re something else entirely, aren’t you? Of course, you were stupid enough to walk into a trap, so clearly still lesser stock, but…” His hand lifted my hair, brushing against the back of my neck. I tried not to move. There was no way he could know where the Flame was. But if – _if –_ he knew –

                He simply reached around, brushing my windpipe and limpid, half-baked pheromones swimming off of him. Pathetic. Mountain Men were like clanspeople who had never grown up. All of them, Omegas, without even the richness of _their_ taste.

                “What do you want from me?” I asked, keeping my voice as steady as I could. The man above me – Trikru – opened his eyes just enough to make eye contact with me, and his shoulders stiffened. He’d recognized me. I tried to comfort him with my eyes alone. I couldn’t tell what effect, if any, I had.

                “We’ll examine you. See if we can gain some better understanding of your people.”

                “And if I consent to your exams?”

                He laughed. “It really doesn’t matter either way. But I suppose we can reward you for making our job easier.”

                I turned on my heel. It didn’t matter that I was naked. I was still an Alpha. I was still the Commander. I let him look me over from head to toe – my muscles coiled under callused skin, my battle scars, every inch of me a warrior, and I raised my chin and met his eyes without a hint of the fear that was gathering in my stomach. “Every day that I submit to your tests, you let one of my people free.”

                He blinked, taken aback. “Well –“

                “Those are my terms, Mountain Man. Unless you think I’m incapable of tearing your throat out just like this.” Not a lie. Not strictly the truth, either. I could certainly _try._

                “One a week. We need them.”

                “For what?”

                He just smiled. “It doesn’t matter.”

                I rather believed it did, but I had nothing to bargain with. Nothing except – I realized – my body. They were intrigued by me. They didn’t _know_ what I could do. And they wanted to find out.

                “Then let’s begin.” I pointed to the door behind him with a nod of my head.

                He stared at me, lips twitching, then bowed his head in return. “Ladies first,” he murmured.

                Smart man. The Mountain Men were stupid, but not stupid enough to put me at their back. I followed the path of his hand, glancing behind me one last time. I could feel the tenseness in the air. They were watching.

 _Don’t worry,_ I tried to tell them. How I wished I could say it out loud. _I will keep you safe, even if it means my life._


	5. Flame in the Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No new TWs.

Clarke looked like she was asleep, but I could see the blood pulsing in her neck, and I knew she was faking. I considered calling her on it, but I let her have her secrets for now. She didn’t know what I could and couldn’t sense. I might as well keep it that way.

Instead, I took the opportunity to look her over for myself. She was maybe seventeen or eighteen, blonde, with an open cut on her forehead that had dripped into her eyebrow and dried sticky there. I could see some faint musculature, but overall, she was remarkably skinny. No scars that I could see, only a few smears of dirt or oil…

I laughed a little to myself. What different worlds we must be from – and yet she was an Omega, or close enough for it to register as the same. Fate pulled funny tricks sometimes.

There were footsteps at the door. I got to my feet and glanced through the pothole, but it wasn’t Maya this time. Instead, a tall woman with dark hair and skin stared unflinchingly back at me. I recognized her, if only dimly.

“Lexa,” she said with a smile. “Good to see you up and about.”

Her voice brought the recognition back in full and I bristled, hackles rising. “ _Doktor Tsing,_ ” I spat, sliding back into Trigedasleng. I cleared my throat and went back to English. It was useless to imagine that any of the barbarians who lived here would recognize my language as anything more than wasted words. “Who is she?”

Doctor Tsing blinked and gave me a calculated smile. “A newcomer.”

“From _where?_ Don’t treat me like I’m stupid.”

“It’s on a need-to-know basis-“

I slammed my fist against the door, and was gratified to see her jump back, startled, the ice-cold mask sliding away for a few moments. It came back soon enough, but it was a victory. “Doctor Tsing,” I said in a low voice, keeping eye contact with her, “no matter how many doors you keep me behind, I am the leader of my people. Newcomers _are_ my business.”

She pressed her lips firmly together. “I’ll speak with Cage. Why don’t you and Clarke get to know each other?”

I did _not_ like the sound of that. But before I could figure out how to ask what on earth she meant by that, she was gone.

I sighed, pressing my forehead against the door and slowly uncoiling my fingers. Even with how short they’d cut my fingernails, I’d still managed to gouge into my palms. This place was killing me. Then, I smiled sadly. “I know you’re not asleep, by the way.”

“You could probably do with some. You haven’t sat down since I got here.”

I turned my head, and met Clarke’s eyes, sharp and blue and unmistakeably awake. “So. Where are you from?”

“The sky.”

I tried not to show my surprise. “That isn’t a real answer.”

She shrugged and smiled. “We were on the space station when the Earth was destroyed.”

I nodded, silently trying to imagine what a space station could be. I supposed she’d given me enough information to put together a basic picture, but a town spinning in the air felt like something out of the old tales. I supposed that’s exactly where she’d come from. “So you’re neither Mountain Man nor _Kongeda_.”

“Kon…geda?”

I pointed to myself.

“Oh.” She scanned me, not with any subtlety. “Where…?”

I held back the scoff. “Here. Where we’ve always been.”

Her eyes widened at that, the steady gaze giving way to childlike surprise. “On the ground? Outside?”

I cocked my head. I could hear her heartbeat, but I couldn’t detect any hint of a lie. Either she was just that good, or she was genuinely that surprised. “Yes. Where else is there to be?”

Clarke’s eyes lowered to the floor. Her bare feet curled on the floor. “The Ark was just rooms and hallways.”

Despite her bare description, I could hear the homesickness in her voice. I sat down next to her on the floor, studiously keeping my eyes away from the bed. “When did you come down to the ground?”

Clarke wouldn’t meet my eyes. I reached up and touched the cut on her forehead. It was fresher than I’d thought. She seemed about to answer, then a rattling startled her into looking upwards. A tray of food slid through the door, followed by a second one. “I guess they _are_ feeding us,” she said dully.

I pulled my hand away, and as I did so, the Alpha sprang up in me, stronger than before. Only the Flame’s bark of warning stopped me from jumping her, holding her down, tearing those flimsy clothes –

_You’re better than this!_

                Yes, I was. I just hoped I could remain so for longer than the Mountain Men’s patience. Once they got impatient, they would get clumsy. And then, no wall could keep me from my home.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: medical abuse, needles, some unsanitary stuff, humiliation

                The civility that Cage and I had established didn’t last long. I had hardly made it back into the room before the doctor waiting for me clipped a cuff around my wrist and chained me to the bed.

                “No more running away,” she tutted. I resolved to kill her first. And slowly. She was a little taller than me, with long dark hair that reminded me of Anya. The haughtiness of her pose did, too, but the rest of her was sheer Mountain Man arrogance, all babble and talk with no real power to back it up.

                I could have told her about my agreement with Cage. I didn’t bother. I just stood there and waited for instructions.

                Instead of instructions, there was a sharp jab in my arm. My head swivelled over to glare at her, but she barely acknowledged my existence, drawing blood out into a syringe. “I’ll need a urine and stool sample.”

                “What?”

                She rolled her eyes. “Outsiders.” Then she mouthed the words, like I was a baby. “ _Piss. And. Shit.”_

My face flamed with embarrassment. “I knew what you meant,” I lied. We _knew_ English. Just…some of the words the Mountain Men used didn’t translate. “No.”

                “Did it sound like a question?”

                Cage. Where was Cage? I’d made an agreement with _him –_

 _Breathe,_ said the Flame. I could have cried with relief. It wasn’t gone. _Do what you need to._

I took a deep breath. “In privacy? Please?”

                Her lips thinned at that, but then she gave me a brisk nod. Although – I glanced at the cameras – it really wasn’t privacy after all. Just the illusion of it.

                _You’re the Heda,_ urged the Flame, as she left. _You do what you have to for your people. Your dignity matters less than that._

If only I could make it hurt a little less.

* * *

                By the time she came back and collected her specimens, I’d made a bit more peace with the situation. I still wasn’t prepared for whatever tests they were going to run on me, but I would face them. After all, _they_ lived in a shell. I’d fought off every beast of the outside world.

It turned out my biggest foe was confusion. The doctor pressed several sticky pads to my chest, covered with some gel I couldn’t identify. Some invention of theirs, I supposed. “What are these?” I asked. I didn’t get a response at first, so I yanked one of them off. It pulled at my skin, but didn’t hurt as much as I imagined a bit.

                Her head snapped up to meet my eyes. I stared back, unfazed. “What is this?” I asked again.

                She snatched the pad out of my hand, and reapplied it. “It’s an electrocardiogram. It measures your heart’s electrical activity.”

                I nodded, hoping my mystification wasn’t obvious on my face. ‘Measures’ and ‘heart’ were obvious enough – it was a monitor, not something active. They were taking my picture, analyzing me for weakness, with their machines and technology doing the work for them.

                _Wait and let them take their measures,_ said the Flame.

                “Alright. Up you get.”

                “Where are we going?”

                “You’ll see in a minute.” She gave me an impatient tap on the shoulder, and I stood up, giving her a sour look before following her pointed finger towards the door. She guided me into a room a corridor over, and I silently thanked the Flame that nobody else seemed to inhabit this area.

                The room was bigger than the one I’d been in previously, with a slanted viewing area in the corner of the room. I could see Cage in one of the seats, an older man next to him with a troubled look on his face. The rest of the viewing area was empty.

                In the center of the room was a device I’d never seen before. Not that that was proving to be a _new_ sensation.

                The Flame, however, recognized it. I was beginning to wonder how much the Flame knew and wasn’t telling me. How long ago in its memory had it seen this thing?

                “Get on the treadmill,” the doctor ordered.

                Treadmill. That word made sense… sort of. I couldn’t make it correlate to the object in front of me, but it had a flat raised surface and handles. I stepped onto the raised surface. She set a box onto the handles, then pinned the wires hanging from me to it.

                I didn’t like this. I didn’t like this at _all._

She pressed a button on the machine, then stepped back, watching with interest. A second later, the surface below me started to churn. I began to panic as it started pulling me backwards, but something – the Flame – steadied me. I grabbed the handles, and jumped forward. It kept going, and with a flash of realization what it was.

                _Tread._

_Mill._

English, making alarming amounts of sense at the eeriest of times, again. I began to walk, slowly, matching the pace of the machine. Okay. I’d gotten that part down. I’d passed stage one of the test.

                I eyed the doctor carefully, waiting for stage two. She pressed the button again. The treadmill got a little faster.

                Well. That was somewhat of a let down. I walked a little faster.

                The treadmill got faster.

                Okay. This was starting to become a little more challenging. Soon I was running properly, beads of sweat starting to form at my temples, bare feet sore from hitting the rubber. The box that the wires were attached to was beeping. I resisted the urge to spit at the damn thing.

                I dared to look up at Cage and the older man. Cage was watching intently – rather too intently for my liking. The older man had a more detached interest. He –

                I lost my focus, and went sprawling onto the floor, head slamming against the rubber. The doctor stopped the treadmill – then stood there, waiting for me to do something. At least in that way, they were like us, at least in how they treated _us._

                I moved my arm experimentally. No breaks. No sprains. Bruises, definitely. My head was ringing, but that was to be expected. My legs hurt, but mostly I was just shaken.

                I rose to my feet, clenching my fist to stop the shaking. “Again,” I demanded.

                Above me, Cage’s face split into a broad smile.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: mention of sex shaming, minor sexual content (which will only escalate after this chapter), involuntary drugging, food.
> 
> The word 'maugada' is mine - I'm not heavily involved with the fandom so I pushed a few Trigedasleng words together to create it. It most accurately translates to 'bigender', 'third gender' or 'two-spirit'.
> 
> 'Bilaik teina gon houm' translates roughly to 'like the tongue of home'. Poor homesick Lexa.

The food in front of us was different than normal. On the surface it seemed like the standard fare – meat, potatoes, vegetable, a slice of bread – but it was higher quality than usual. I could tell that just from the smell.

                I glanced up through my eyelashes. For all Clarke’s caution, she had started eating right away, her hunger overpowering her earlier reticience. It was clearly _me_ she didn’t trust. That was foolish.

                I tore off a small piece of the bread with my teeth and touched it with my tongue. It was far less grainy than usual – likely more on par with what they fed themselves. But there was something else, as well. Sickly and sweet. I swallowed the small piece, not wanting to spit it out in front of Clarke, and watched her carefully.

                “So how did your… sky people end up on the ground?” I asked. She’d avoided my earlier question, but perhaps worded a little differently, she’d be willing to open up. Some of the tension had left her body, although the gash on her forehead was still a stark reminder that whatever had happened, it had been recent.

                She raised her eyebrows, pausing mid-chew with a mouthful of potatoes. I suppressed the urge to laugh, and without thinking about it, reached forward to flick a morsel of food off her bottom lip.

                _Stupid!_ The Alpha had acted without thinking. She wasn’t Kongeda, or Trikru, or family. She was a stranger, and in all probability a trap.

                _There’s nothing wrong with projecting a harmless exterior. Make her open up to you. Then you can decide for yourself whether to trust her._ The Flame’s advice was reasoned and wise, as always. I let myself relax a little.

                Clarke swallowed. “It’s – not all of us,” she admitted, although it clearly took her some effort. “Just –“ She stopped a little short then shrugged. “They sent a bunch of us down to see if Earth was inhabitable.”

                “Inhabitable?” I quirked an eyebrow. “Did you think there was nobody here?”

                The look on her face told me that yes, that was _exactly_ what they had thought. I felt my grudging respect for Clarke’s Sky People slip away. They were starting to sound like another batch of Mountain Men.

                “We didn’t –“ Her eyes flicked down to the piece of bread in her hand. “We watched the bombs go off. When Earth got destroyed.”

                “We?”

                “Not, like –“ She shook her head. “I mean, like, my ancestors. My great-grandfather was one of the first astronauts on the ship.” There was a small smile on her face, and then a flash of pain. The train of thought hadn’t led her anywhere good. “Does – do you – I mean, the Grounders – do you still have the word astronaut?”

                I shook my head. “I know your language, but those kinds of words are Mountain Men territory.”

                “You – don’t speak English outside?”

                “We have our own language. Trigedasleng.”

                “What does it sound like?”

                “ _Bilaik teina gon houm.”_ I said, and was startled to see how brightly her eyes shone. I wondered if she heard the echoes of her own language in it. Most _Kongeda_ didn’t know enough English to hear it, but as Nightblood I heard English in Trigedasleng and vice versa every time I opened my mouth. A little scrap of history in every word.

                A cloud passed over her face. “I don’t –“ The caution was back, and she stared at the bread with sudden horror. Ah. She’d finally noticed. “You – you _drugged_ me! I didn’t want to tell you any of that –“

                “You told me very little, Sky Clarke.”

                “Still too much! What did you put in this?”

                “I’m not the one who drugged you.”

                She rose angrily to her feet, but I could see the way she swayed even as she clenched her fists. There was an unnatural flush to her cheeks, and her pheromones rushed to the surface, fueled by her sudden anger. “You didn’t eat _anything!_ You knew –“

                “Yes,” I replied calmly.

                “Why didn’t you _tell_ me?”

                I looked up at her from my seated position on the ground, my calm face not betraying a single ounce of the tension winding up inside me. God, she smelled _so good._ Anger, fear, and the building arousal from what I now recognized to be aphrodisiacs laced all through her food. That was what she was feeling now. They acted fast, apparently.

                I inclined my head. “Sit down. What you’re feeling is natural.”

                Her lips thinned in distrust, but I could see the fear in her eyes. She slowly eased down onto her knees, the smell of musk permeating the room. I was starting to put the pieces together.

                “Clarke, do you know what you are?”

                “What is _that_ supposed to mean?” she snapped.

                “An Omega. Does that word mean anything to you?”

                She shook her head, but there was a flicker of recognition. “I’m – not sure?” The flush on her cheeks deepened, and her gaze darted downwards. Ah. So she _did_ know.

                “There are men, and women, and –“ There was no English word for it. “ _Maugada?_ Without gender, and both, and all.”

                Clarke frowned but nodded. “I… yes?”

                “But then there are Alphas, and Betas, and Omegas –“

                “ _Oh!_ ” The flush was _definitely_ all her, this time, and her knees pressed together in a sudden spasm. “Oh – you mean –“ She bit her lip. “ _Those._ ”

                I started. “Those?”

                “We don’t – talk about it.”

                I blinked and tried to wrap my head around the concept. “Why not?” I asked, but the aphrodisiacs were obviously affecting Clarke even more now. She was squirming, eyes squeezed shut, and the humiliation of my eyes upon her was too much for her to bear – she was pulling away from my eyes.

                I wanted to tell her that there was nothing to be ashamed of. I couldn’t even _process_ the idea of refusing to _name_ the roles. What did they do when their children had their first heats, their first ruts-?

                Well, that was obvious, I thought to myself, turning my back out of respect to Clarke. They suppressed it. I took my suppressants by choice, to keep my mind on my duties and to avoid siring children with one clan, avoid splitting my allegiances. _Forcing_ them on people…

                I closed my eyes and tried to meditate, to keep my mind off of it. I couldn’t reach a proper state of mind, though, and what couldn’t have been more than a few minutes later, a desperate sob broke my concentration.

                The Alpha licked its lips in readiness, shaking off the last traces of the suppressant lingering in my bloodstream. The Flame held its own counsel.

                But I knew I couldn’t leave her to suffer on her own.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: forced nudity, violence, blood

Falling asleep on the hard bed, shivering even in the temperature-controlled room, I let myself believe that the ache in my legs meant I’d won.

                It took me less than a minute after being woken up by bright light and the doctor’s voice to realize my victory was hollow. I could barely move. I could barely even _think._ My legs hadn’t stopped aching from my torturous hours on the treadmill. If anything they’d gotten worse.

                “Get up,” she ordered.

                I tried to come up with a suitably dismissive response, but my brain wouldn’t function. I simply obeyed, and she watched my slow movements with a judgemental expression. _You die first,_ I thought with a quiet determination. Although as long as I got to kill her at some point, I wasn’t particularly bothered.

                “Can’t you move any faster than that? You’re supposed to be a prime specimen.”

                I growled quietly at her, sliding off of the bed and onto my feet, refusing to waver. “What now?”

                “Come with me.”

                I obeyed again, silently playing scenarios in my head where I could break her neck _and_ not end up in the cages with my people, slowly bleeding out. She wouldn’t have lasted a week outside. She wouldn’t have lasted a _day._ I got some small entertainment from imagining her in Anya’s tender hands – but my quiet daydreaming was soon interrupted as Doctor Tsing pushed me into another room.

                “What’s this -?” I turned around – and was faced with a locked door.

                _“You haven’t given us your name, Commander,”_ came Cage’s voice in a purr. I looked up. No glass viewing platform this time. Just a camera, his voice piping through it.

                “Haven’t I? I know yours, Cage.”

                There was a figure in the corner. I braced myself. They hadn’t given me a weapon, or even clothing, but that wasn’t going to stop me from fighting –

                The Reaper tore out of the shadows, filed teeth bared. I threw myself to the side, ducking its rush at me, and rolled as I hit the ground. I landed with one knee on the ground.

                _Shit._

It turned to me, pupils barely pinpricks in its white eyes. “ _Gonplei!_ ” it snarled. _Fight._

                I felt my blood run cold. My language. My language in the monster’s mouth –

                The Flame flashed in me. _Remember who you are. Fear is for later._

I raised myself to my feet. “ _Wamplei!_ ” _Death._

It came for me, faster than I’d planned for, and this time it caught my hair as I tried to duck. It tore at my scalp, and then suddenly I was pinned against the wall, broad fingers squeezing my neck –

                “What’s the matter, Commander?” came Cage’s taunting voice through the camera speaker. My vision started to spin – I needed _air –_

I threw my hand forward, and dug my fingers into the Reaper’s eye. The reaction was immediate – it flew backwards, screaming as it pressed its hands to its face. Blood dripped onto the floor, and the knife fell down with it, clinking onto the floor.

                My head was still spinning, but I ran for it, grabbing the small knife in my bloodsoaked fingers, and I threw it as hard as I could. It buried itself hilt-deep into the Reaper’s exposed throat. Its desperate wailing gave way to a pathetic choke – and its hands fell away. Slowly, it wavered on its feet – and finally, fell to its knees, then onto the floor.

                There was silence. I wiped a line of saliva from my chin, then took careful steps forward. My legs were still shaking from the treadmill, but I wouldn’t let them see that.

                I bent over, and plucked the knife from the Reaper’s still gushing throat. Then I turned to face the camera.

                “My name is Heda Alexandria of Trikru, leader of the Kongeda.” I raised my fingers to my face and dragged them across my cheek, leaving smears of blood behind. “Try harder.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Explicit sexy times, pregnancy mention, sort-of-dubcon? depending on your perspective of what heat entails mentally

“L-Lexa..." came the begging voice from behind me again. I was trying so hard to trance, but I couldn't. Not with her suffering behind me.

 

I wondered if I should ignore it. But –

 

                I allowed myself to sink back into the real world, and turned my head. “Yes, Clar-“ The words fell away. I tried to keep my composure as I took in the sight of the young Omega undergoing her first true heat. She'd stripped off her shirt, and it hung limply from one arm, already drenched with sweat. A tattered undergarment valiantly tried to cover her breasts, but it was already soaked through, and her pert nipples poked through the sheer fabric. She was aching for touch.

 

Her blonde hair stuck to her sweaty forehead, giving her an air of vulnerability she hadn’t had before. Now that she was nude, I could appreciate how _young_ she was. Not much younger than me, but that didn’t say much.

 

I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry _. Keep your distance_ , warned the Flame.       _Look away._ But I couldn’t. She was _beautiful._ Beautiful, and desperate.

 

"Lexa," she begged again. Her hand dipped between her thighs, pressing to her crotch through the fabric of her jeans, a strangled moan leaving her lips. The sweat on her forehead was making her golden hair stick to her face and cheeks. I wondered if I should pull it away.

 

_You are the Heda. You are above this -_

 

_Take her. She wants you. This is what you were born for._

 

I felt myself stirring in my loose gown, and bit down on the inside of my cheek, trying to make it stop. Then I rose to my feet. "What do you need?"

 

"Y-you know what I -" Clarke fell silent, shame sealing her lips. Her eyes were watering, with tears of rage or shame or frustration I couldn't tell.

 

I sighed, then walked over to her, sitting with my back to the wall, I took hold of her waist, and she stiffened in anticipation at my touch, but I just pulled her gently into my lap. She could feel my erection, I knew, and she thrust back against it with a gasp, but I steadied her, settling her between my legs and leaning her head back against me. "There we go." I stroked my hand through her hair, releasing another flood of pheromones. If my goal was to drive _myself_ crazy, that was working.

 

Clarke closed her eyes, a tear escaping and rolling down her overheated cheek. "I don't... know what to do," she breathed out quietly.

 

"It's okay," I murmured into her cheek. "I'll show you." I moved my shaking hand to the button of her jeans, undoing it the best that I could. She got the message, and with a frantic excitement, slid them down her thighs, snarling in frustration as they stuck on her skin. She kicked them aside with a satisfied growl.

 

"Have patience," I whispered. I took a moment to examine her undergarments. I'd never seen anything quite like them before. The top undergarment I'd understood well enough, but the bottom half was... smaller than I'd expected. I ran my fingers over the trimming at the top, and she squirmed. Then I took a firm hold of her wrist, pulling her hand to the soaked crotch of her underwear.

 

"A-ah? But -" The pleading tone of her voice told me enough, but I shook my head.

 

"I'm here for comfort. But I'm not going to mate with you."

 

"B-but -"

 

"Mating is serious," I murmured. "You have to learn how to sate your own desires." I guided her fingers to the hard nub of her clitoris and began to move them back and forth, stimulating her with her own fingers - and she threw her head back, gasping with pleasure.

 

I chuckled, twining my other hand in her long hair. "Do you like that, Clarke?"

 

"Ah - yes -"

 

I kept rubbing her fingers in circles around her nub, then drew my own hand back, letting her continue. I couldn't resist letting my hand wander up over her tight stomach, to the nipples that were still so hard through the cloth of her undergarment. I stroked one, and she moaned even more loudly; I pressed my thumb to it and she cried out in what was almost protest.

 

"Keep your hand moving," I whispered, and she shivered.

 

"Y-yes, Lexa," she answered, and obeyed, her fingers rubbing back and forth on her clitoris. Her juices were starting to drip through the fabric onto the sterile floor now, and my erection was hard as a rock against her back, begging for some sort of release. I refused to give it. I had been fighting a war against my own body for too long.

 

I squeezed one of her nipples, and slapped a hand over her mouth before her scream of pleasure could draw too much attention. I didn't suppose it mattered too much whether it did or not. I just liked having her here in my lap, under my control -

 

 _You're enjoying this too much,_ the Flame tried to warn, but I ignored it despite my better instincts. What right did it have? I’d suppressed every flare of heat I ever had with medication. Even with Costia, I’d never allowed myself to feel anything raw – it was all contained, controlled, sanitized.

 

Clarke wriggled in my lap, her fingers working at her clit and jaw moving underneath my hand. “Mm!” Her legs moved closed for more friction – I held them open, releasing her mouth to dig my fingers into her soft thighs. I wondered what they tasted like, then tried to refocus –

 

“Lexa, p-please, I need – _more –_ “

 

“Do you now?” I teased.                                      

 

“I don’t – I’m – I’m so – so close – please I – “ She punctuated each word with a breathy gasp, and I ran my fingers through the slick wetness coating her thighs.

 

“Ask me properly,” I breathed. I was throbbing against her, thick and hot and _stop you can do this –_ The Alpha grazed its teeth over her neck, so close, a teaser of a ritual she couldn’t possibly have known –

 

She leaned her head back onto me, chest rising and falling in heavy gasps. “Please, Mistress,” she mewled, and it was a new word, a new title – but it was _hers._

 

I moved my fingers back to her and slid two of them into her slit, and she tensed up at the intrusion. “Don’t worry, princess.” I murmured. She was so wet that there was barely a stretch, even though she bucked against my hand.

 

“Th-they’re inside,” she whispered. “I’ve never…”

 

“It’s okay. Just trust me. Keep going.”

 

She kept moving her fingers on her clit, whimpering at the sensation of something inside her for the first time. I couldn’t _imagine_ that – being so afraid to even explore. I started thrusting my fingers in and out, keeping a pace to her heartbeat as it thudded through her chest and into mine.

 

“Are you going to cum for me, sweetheart?” I asked. The pet names came so easily to my lips, I barely thought anything of them.

 

“Yes, mistress,” she managed to gasp out, and then her body tensed against me, a sob leaving her mouth as she hit her first orgasm. It wouldn’t be enough to satisfy her heat – especially not her first one – but I could feel her muscles already begin to relax as she rode it out, shuddering in my lap. It wasn’t making _my_ arousal any easier to bear.

 

Her head fell to the side, her breaths shallow and fast, and her hand fell away from her clit. It was red and engorged, chafed raw, but she wouldn’t feel it until later. I lifted my hands back to a more innocent position, rubbing my thumbs in circles around the back of her shoulders.

 

“Is that better?” I asked, my voice calmer, more normal. A sign that this was an aberration – not something for her to expect of me.

 

She nodded, her voice stolen for now.

 

“It won’t last. But as long as your heat goes on, you will need to do that several times a day.”

 

“A – a _day?_ ” she managed to croak.

 

I found a knot in her back, and rolled my knuckles over it, eliciting another, differently-flavoured moan from her exhausted mouth. “That’s correct.” Calm. Collected. _Clinical._ Ignoring my groin was getting harder and harder the more I tried _not_ to focus on it.

 

“How did –“ She wet her lips. “I’ve never –“

 

“This is your first, yes. They probably put suppressants in your food, wherever you were. The, uh, sky.” I couldn’t help the small humour in my voice at that. True or not, it _sounded_ patently ridiculous.

 

“Suppressants? Like, to stop it from happening?”

 

“Until the appointed times, yes. We use them to a limited degree within our tribes. Warriors often find it impractical to become pregnant with war on the horizon.”

 

“P-pregnant? What does _this_ have to do with _pregnancy?”_

“You – you really don’t know?” Whatever distrust of Clarke I’d had left was subsumed in something that was equal parts faint horror, amusement and incredulity. But what won out in the end was pure masochistic curiosity. “Tell me, Clarke. How _do_ you think babies are born?”

 

She scoffed. “I’m not _stupid._ I _know_ babies are born through my sex. My mom is a surgeon.”

 

“Alphas and Betas can sire. Only Omegas can carry. They truly don’t bother explaining this to you-“

 

“Maybe they do when we’re older, I don’t know. They only sent kids down, remember?” There was a distinct edge in her voice, and I decided to drop the topic for now. It was too late though. She got to her feet, wavering unsteadily, and grabbed her shirt from the floor, pulling it over her head. “It doesn’t matter,” she claimed, even though her pupils were still too large for her eyes and the sweat still poured down her neck. “All that matters is getting out of here.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: molestation/sexual abuse, nonconsensual drugging, medical abuse, violence

They still hadn’t thought to test my senses, and I sat on the other side of the steel door, listening to their conversation as it rang through the metal. It was chance, really, that I could hear them at all. Cage was stupid enough to have his hand on the door, and the metal was vibrating.

 

            “Cage, I –“

 

            “I don’t want to hear about it, Doctor Tsing,” he said calmly, but the rage lingered underneath his voice. He was like a baby wolf, with all the power of his father but none of the experience. “ _Find out_ what makes her special before I have to start following through.”

 

            “On what?”

 

            “What do you _think?_ The only reason she’s so docile –“

 

            “ _Docile?”_ echoed Dr. Tsing in horror. I allowed myself a small grin of victory.

 

            “-is because I promised to release one of her people a week. It’s been five days. You have two days to get results, or I’m calling this entire experiment off.”

 

            Tsing was deathly silent. Then – “You gambled with our lives.”

 

            “It’s not a gamble if I hold all the cards.”

 

            “We can’t _survive_ without the Outsiders.”

 

            “We’ll capture more. We always do.”

 

            “Your flippancy _isn’t appreciated –_ “

 

            “Would you rather I go in there and put a bullet through her skull?” Cage replied with a calm ferocity that made my chest tense up. “Your supposed… what was it?”

 

            “Outlier,” she murmured. “I’ll get you your results.”

 

            His footsteps faded away, ringing on the concrete, and I exhaled a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. I wasn’t surprised by what Cage had said – or if I was, it was that he’d intended on keeping his promise at all.

 

            Then the door opened behind my back. I sprang to my feet, but I was too slow, and I came face to face with Dr. Tsing, her eyes glowing with rage and lips pursed.

 

            “Come with me,” she snarled, grabbing my arm. I could have fought her, but my curiosity won out – and the bare hope that maybe, _maybe_ if I kept cooperating, Cage would really keep his word. This time, though, she slammed me face first against the wall. Something fierce and hot rose in my stomach, something I’d felt before but only in masked corners of my consciousness.

 

            I shoved it down. Or, more appropriately, the Flame did, and let Dr. Tsing handcuff me. But I could feel the resentment boil, deep inside me.

 

            She took me to a different part of the mountain, this time. I hadn’t minded my nudity for the most part – my skin was tough enough to handle it. But as we passed one person, and then another, I started to understand it for the shame it was. They were treating like an animal.

 

            Another man passed by. I could feel his eyes on me, greedy and lascivious. For the first time since my imprisonment had begun, I remembered the way my captors had touched me, and I shivered.

 

            Finally, Tsing shoved me into a new room. I caught my balance, looked up – and couldn’t help the cringe of horror in my stomach. Five people. In here with me. I almost _hoped_ for another fight – but no, they had machines and white coats.

 

            We were here to get Tsing’s _results._

“Lie on the table,” she snapped.

 

            “Where’s Cage?” I asked.

 

            “Otherwise occupied.” She waited for me to comply, and when I just stood there, she snapped her fingers. Two of the doctors grabbed me by the arms, and I went along with it as they pushed me to the table. But once I saw the straps –

 

            My arm jerked away, and when one of the men reached for me again, I dug my teeth into his arm. I’d promised to cooperate, but I was – I was _tired,_ I _hurt,_ I could feel all of their eyes on me at once –

 

            “That’s enough!”

 

            A needle slid into my neck, and I growled, trying to jerk away. But the drug did its work. I tried to fight it, tried to assert some kind of control – but the energy drained out of my muscles. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even resist as they pinned me down the rest of the way to the table, and tightened the leather straps around my arms and legs.

 

            Dr. Tsing hovered over me, a smirk dancing around her lips. “Not so tough now, are you?”

 

            I mumbled something, but my lips wouldn’t work. Even the Flame was dimmed, and I just stared up at her, waiting for whatever it was. Even so, I wasn’t prepared for the cold gel on my stomach, and I gasped at the sudden sensation.

 

            “I’ve watched how some of you breed,” she said in a low voice, something hot and dark running through it. My stomach turned at that. _Breed._ I didn’t like the way she said it, like it was some show for her to enjoy. “So I’m guessing whatever makes you special is down here, isn’t it?”

 

            _She’s only seen male Alphas._ I made the connection sluggishly but faster than I’d expected – and I stared down at the device she was moving over my stomach, spreading the cold gel.

 

            Tsing lifted her other hand to me, brushing through my pubic hair, and down between my legs. I closed my eyes, refusing to watch, but I couldn’t help but shiver as her fingers, coated with the same cold gel, slid over my clit.

 

            “Ah, you like that, don’t you?”

 

            I was keenly aware of the other doctors in the room, but they didn’t say a word as Tsing leaned close to me, fingers rubbing circles around my clit. The rage rose up inside me again, and with a jolt, I realized what it was – my Alpha side, the primeval part of my brain, suppressed and silenced and finally waking up.

 

            I managed to make my hips roll away from her, but she forced my back down onto the table, and I couldn’t hide it. My clit was growing at her touch, swelling and getting more and more sensitive –

 

            A whimper left my mouth. She couldn’t fully stimulate me, not without an Omega around, but that didn’t mean the attention wasn’t working. My slit was getting wetter and wetter with every second she teased me, and then one of her gloved fingers slid between my folds, pushing deep into me.

 

            “How about that? Do you like that, beast?”

 

            _Beast._ That was what she thought of me. I would have yelled, or said _something,_ but I couldn’t. I was helpless underneath her fingers as they thrust into me, faster and faster – her breaths were speeding up too, and I managed to turn my head enough to see the way her thighs were pressing together…

 

            I tried to say, “Stop,” but my lips were nothing more than string and clay. And then finally, she’d had enough. Her fingers trembled as she pulled them out of me, and she licked the sweat off of her upper lip, eyes sparkling.

 

            I glanced down at myself. I was erect enough to show that I was an Alpha, my clit half-hard and lolling on my stomach. Tsing caressed it with her eyes sparkling. “So this is what you’ve been hiding.” She glanced up at the ultrasound. “This isn’t a good enough picture. Somebody bring me the X-ray.”

 

            I closed my eyes, hoping I would pass out. I didn’t, but I found myself able to meditate as they passed the green light over me, my consciousness slipping into a peaceful, dark place – and still glimmering, there in the void, was the Flame.


	11. Chapter 11

~11~

 

           

            This time, Clarke really was asleep. Her heat had worn her out, and I listened to her steady breaths as her heartbeat slowed down.

 

            I refused to acknowledge that my arousal hadn’t gone away. I didn’t want to know about it, and I didn’t want to think about it – even though I was fully erect for the first time in years, my knot pressing against the base of my groin –

 

            _No,_ I commanded it. It didn’t obey, but it didn’t cause any more trouble, either.

 

            Instead, I gazed at Clarke, wondering what the truth was. I still didn’t trust her. I wanted to. God, I wanted to. But I couldn’t tell how much of that was being controlled by my Alpha instincts, how much was paranoia, and how much was realistic concern. The Mountain Men were terrible. Were they terrible enough to put one of their own into heat? _Could_ they?

 

            Clarke wriggled in her sleep on top of the bed. Exhaustion had won out – even with the straps hanging on either side, the bed itself was comfortable enough. Then she let out a quiet moan, thighs rubbing together, and I flushed and glanced away. Ah. That kind of dream. I’d gotten them a few times, during the few ruts I’d had before they started giving the Nightbloods suppressants. Anya had woken me up from them, teasing me about humping pillows – I still didn’t know if she’d been serious.

 

            My hand crept towards my crotch, and a breath passed my lips as I palmed the lump in my hospital gown. I didn’t realize how _big_ it would get, around an Omega. I hadn’t even needed to touch myself.

 

            I slid my hand under the gown, swallowing the shame that went with it. My erection wouldn’t go away. This was a perfectly normal way to deal with it –

 

            I used my other hand to cover my mouth. My fingers slid over my shaft, the bulbous knot at the base, until I managed to ease into a rhythm – hand wrapped tight around my cock as I masturbated, staring at Clarke’s sleeping face. God, she was _beautiful._ I couldn’t trust her, but you could never really trust beautiful things.

 

            I muffled my pants, thrusting my hips up as I got closer and closer to not just an orgasm, a _proper, Alpha_ orgasm, the way it was supposed to be, without my suppressants –

 

            -and I caught sight of the camera in the corner. I’d forgotten. I’d been stupid and forgotten.

 

            My stomach was aching with need, now. But I released myself, sat on my hands, and stared stubbornly up at the little glass lens that seemed to twinkle so maliciously. _We saw you,_ it seemed to taunt. _We know how you work now._

Well, let them try. One Alpha and one Omega. If I never mated with her, they’d never get the data they were so greedily seeking out.

 

            Now I just had to make sure I _didn’t._

Clarke shifted in her sleep again, hips pushing against the mattress as she sighed dreamily again.

 

            This was going to be a challenge.


	12. Chapter 12

Slowly, I began to learn how to measure the passing of time from my cell. Inside this artificial enclave, they measured the day and night cycles through a dimming of the lights, on exact twelve-hour rhythm. It took time for me to adjust to it, but after some time, I realized I’d been inside for two days since I’d overheard the conversation. Which meant I’d been here for a week.

 

            I got to my feet and knocked on the door. The guard outside took no notice. They’d started guarding me after Dr. Tsing’s ultrasound; clearly they’d realized I could be as dangerous as I pleased, clothes or no clothes. I knocked harder, and finally the guard turned his head.

 

            “I want to speak to Cage.”

 

            The guard gave me a condescending look, then turned his back again. I wasn’t going to give up that easily. I hammered on the door until he sighed and glared back at me.

 

            “I told you, I want to speak to Cage.”

 

            The guard kept eye contact with me, reaching down for his radio. He spoke into it, words muffled by the glass, then gave me a brisk nod.

 

            A little while later, Cage appeared at the door. He opened it, and before I could make any movement towards him, the two guards latched their rough hands around my arms, forcing me down to my knees. “Well, well. What’s this about, Lexa?”

 

            “It’s been a week, hasn’t it?”

 

            “How observant. Somebody’s been keeping track.”

 

            “We had a deal. I’d like to see your end of it.”

 

            Cage blinked down at me, beady black gaze unreadable. “I see.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Well, get up. Oh, make sure to cuff her. I saw her with that Reaper.”

 

            _I could kill you with my hands tied behind my back,_ I growled, but submitted to the handcuffs anyway. What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him…much.

 

            “You want one of your people set free, is that right?”

 

            I nodded. He snorted, and turned towards the door, leading me through the hallways with the guards still flanking me. It was a distinct change from before – and it meant he was afraid of me now. Good.

 

            I counted the footsteps and twists and turns. I wanted to make sure I knew the way. But he stopped short of the door. “Collins,” he said. “Go inside and pick one of the Grounders. Preferably one of the older ones.”

 

            There was something wrong with the way he said it. He was too smug, too self-assured, and I remembered his conversation with Dr. Tsing. _You’re gambling with our lives._

Collins re-emerged with somebody who – thankfully – I didn’t directly recognize. They were probably 30 or 40, thin and gaunt, and I could tell from their hair and markings that they were Sankru. None of our people had been spared the reach of the Mountain Men, apparently, not even the desert-dwellers.

 

            And too late, I realized that Cage had no intention of letting any of my people go.

 

            I registered the gun in Cage’s hand a second too late, and I tried to charge forward, but the guard’s grip on me was too strong – and I watched helplessly as the Sankru fell forward, the silenced gunshot ripping through their brains. “No – _no!_ You promised, you promised, _you promised –_ “

 

            “Promises don’t matter to animals. Besides, you promised to cooperate, but you’ve told us nothing.” Cage pulled a handkerchief from his front pocket and wiped a few drops of blood off his chin. “Terms have changed. For every week you don’t cooperate, another of your people die.”

 

            I bowed my head. That wasn’t really much of a choice, was it? He scoffed, and was ready to turn away, when I spoke. “I’m an Alpha. Your doctor found out that much. I’ve been on suppressants for the last seven years, because as the commander, it’s too dangerous to sire children of my own.”

 

            “That’s it?” Cage sounded less than impressed. “What on earth is an Alpha, anyway?”

 

            “It means I’m stronger than you. I’m faster than you. I can smell you from a mile away, I can hear you coming before you even know I’m there.” I could feel the adrenaline pumping into my muscles. “Have you ever wondered _why_ your father’s so afraid of us?” I growled. “Call us animals all you want. Without your mountain, you’d be no better than _prey._ ”

 

            I could see the fear in his eyes. “You’re talking big,” he claimed, but the smell rolling off of him said differently. “That’s –“

 

            I tore out of the guard’s grasp and sprung for him. The tranquilizer shot took me down before I got close, but the last thing I saw was Cage mopping the sweat from his brow, staring down at me with something between respect and terror.


	13. Chapter 13

I’d just managed to fall asleep when the door opened, and the sound of footsteps tore me out of the half-consciousness I’d achieved. I’d slid into the past in my dreams, so I thought they had entered the room for me –

 

            “Don’t – don’t touch me! Where’s Finn? Where’s Raven? _Tell me!_ ”

 

            I opened my eyes with a start. The Mountain Men – in white masks and gloves – weren’t coming after me. Instead, they surrounded the bed, hands grasping at Clarke’s arms. “Let _go of me!_ ”

 

            I stumbled to my feet, adrenaline surging up in my blood. Whatever trace of the suppressants had been left behind was gone – left behind was pure Alpha, testosterone and endorphins. “You heard her,” I growled.

 

            One of the men turned to face me. “She’s being taken for tests. It’s not your business –“

 

            I sprang for him, muscles coiled, and knocked him to the ground. The other two turned to me, hands outstretched, but I bared my teeth warningly, hair swinging. I made a move towards one – but the other grabbed my hair, yanking me back.

 

            “Leave her alone!” The man behind me doubled in two, and I turned my head just enough to see Clarke standing determinedly over him, smirking a little as he clutched his hand to his crotch.

 

            The third man just raised his hands in defeat. “I’m – The doctor won’t be happy,” he warned, as his compatriots dragged themselves away, giving me – _us –_ wary looks.

 

            The Flame was trying to tell me something. For the first time in my life, I found myself able to ignore it. “Go ahead and run,” I snarled. They didn’t bother responding – they just slammed the door closed.

 

            I liked it when they remembered to be afraid of me. It felt good. And –

 

            I turned to face Clarke. Her pupils were pinpricks, but she was looking at me with a fire that was more than just chemicals, face flushed red. “You’re tough,” she said with admiration.

 

            I didn’t bother responding. I advanced on her, grabbed her shoulders, and pushed her to the wall, adrenaline surging through my veins. I could feel the hot blood in my arms, in my neck and temples and coiling into a tight, needy spiral into my stomach.

 

            Clarke’s lips met mine with just as much fire. She tasted like a million things I couldn’t describe – and why shouldn’t she? According to her, she’d fallen from the sky – from a world I couldn’t imagine and couldn’t describe. But for all her ignorance about Alphas and Omegas and her own body, I wasn’t her first kiss, not with how she was pushing her tongue greedily past my lips. Somehow, that just made her even more interesting.

 

            I broke the kiss with a gasp, a thought struggling to articulate itself between the bursts of heat that were making it hard to think straight. “Cl-Clarke…”

 

            Her hand slid down to between my legs. Her blue eyes looked up at me, innocent and clear. Knowing what she was doing didn’t stop me from leaning into the touch, struggling to keep some kind of composure. “What’s stopping you?” I could smell the hormones rolling off of her skin. I wanted to lick, and bite, and touch, and take her for my own…

 

            “We’re…” I panted, trying to find the words. “We’re only giving them what they want.”

 

            The same flash in her eyes appeared, the ones that had prefaced her anger at me before. “Then we’ll escape first,” she whispered lowly, lips barely moving. “Who cares about them?”

 

            Her fingers slid between the folds of my gown, and I tried to hold back my gasp of pleasure as she dragged her finger up the length of my hardening clit, the bitten ridge of her nail roughly textured. I stammered, losing myself in her eyes, and even though I knew – _I knew –_ she was manipulating me, the feeling of rut in my chest felt like an endless ocean. _Just take the dive,_ I whispered to myself.

 

            A moment later, Clarke had flipped us around – I was the one pinned to the wall, now, and she was pushing my gown out of the way, hands sliding over my stomach as she lowered herself to her knees. I tried to reach for her, but she pushed my wrists to the wall, and then her tongue was on me, hot and wet and completely different to anything I’d _ever_ experienced before. I slammed my head back against the wall, the pain barely registering. “Clarke – f-fuck –“

 

She laughed softly, then closed her mouth around me, releasing one of my wrists and slipping her hand between my legs to brush over my wet slit. She sucked on the head of my member, then released, letting my shaft slide over her cheek as she crooked a finger into me. “Just returning the favour,” she breathed. Then a moment later, her lips were on me again, teasing and suckling and nuzzling –

 

“Oh my god,” she gasped suddenly. I gazed down at her, more than a little dazed – and she brushed her fingers curiously over the knot that was starting to swell at my base. “What’s…”

 

I tangled my hand in her hair – it was coarse, dirty, bloodstained but still shone gold as the sun. “My knot?”

 

“A knot?”

 

I bit back another unnecessarily snarky response about her society’s lack of education. “It swells and –“ I’d never had to _explain_ it before. “I can – I can show you.”

 

I didn’t have to imagine the way her breath caught in her throat. “Wh-“

 

I took hold of her hair, lowered myself to my knees and shoved her to the floor, knocking the wind out of her. If she was going to taunt me like this… I lowered my face to the waistband of her underwear, peeling it down her thighs, then inhaling the sweet scent of her sweat and juices.

"Lexa..."

"What's the matter?" I teased. "Nervous?"

"No," she lied, but she reached up, tangling her hands in my hair and pulling me down into another kiss. It started off oddly shy, but as I slid my hand over her thighs, the kiss grew more and more forceful. I slid my hand up and over her slit, soaked and open and ready for me -

"Please, _please,"_ she begged into my lips, biting down gently onto my lower lip. She thrust against my hand, impaling herself onto my fingers with a groan, and I chuckled.

"Please what, sky girl?"

"Please fuck me," she gasped, and I could feel the heat rolling off of her. I stroked one hand over my shaft, then leant down, holding her down by her hair and pressing a kiss to her neck. I pushed my clit against her opening and rutted against it, and _stars -_ she was so wet and warm against me -

"Lexa _..._ " She was mewling now, and for the first time, she _sounded_ like an Omega as well as smelled like one. She sounded so _good_ moaning my name that I couldn’t hold back anymore. I positioned myself against her, and thrust into her, a yelp of pleasure leaving my mouth. I’d fooled around with Costia, played with her, let her touch me, but _nothing_ had prepared me for the feeling of an Omega’s slit around me.

A desperate gasp left Clarke’s mouth as I filled her, and I couldn’t help a small smirk of satisfaction. I doubted any of her previous partners – if she’d even _had_ any – had felt like this. Being a Nightblood meant I was special. I was different.

I grabbed her thigh, pushing it over my shoulder and squeezing my fingers into the soft flesh until I could feel it bruise under my grip. My hips kept working against her, my knot rubbing against her lips but not quite pushing into her just yet. “Let me breed you,” I snarled, leaning down until her thigh pressed against her breast, my breath ghosting over her neck. “Let me _own_ you.”

“Yes – god – whatever you want –“ Her fingers rose to my shoulders, clawing against me and leaving wounds of war. It was all I wanted – all I needed – everything I’d been denying myself for _years._ All part of being Heda.

The Flame in the back of my neck suddenly burned, so hot I nearly screamed. I could have ignored it – instead I pulled myself away from Clarke, even though it physically hurt me to disentangle myself from her touch, to unsheathe myself from her.

“Lexa?” she asked with concern and a touch of heartbreak. I leant back against the wall, trying to catch my breath. I _could_ have ignored it, I reminded myself. I was obeying the Flame by choice. It was just giving me a push in the right direction – that as much as I wanted to knot Clarke, I wasn’t going to give the watching murderers _anything._ My spite was stronger than my heat.

I ran my fingers through my hair, chest heaving. “I’m – this is a bad idea. I’m not going to run the risk of getting you pregnant.”

She whined, but I closed my eyes, resisting. Then her hand slid around my slick shaft, working it at a steady pace. “Then don’t,” she whispered, and then she was in my lap, my shaft pressed against her stomach and sliding through her fingers –

Her lips caught mine again, teeth nipping and tearing at the tender flesh. “Cum for me,” she whispered, fingers tight around my knot, and she moaned as she slid my shaft against her clit. She ground against me, steadying herself against my chest as her hips sped up, and I buried my head in the crook of her neck, trying to control my breathing.

The orgasm was like nothing else I’d never known – light and life and colour playing out behind my closed eyes as my muscles seized. I clung to her, squeezing her close and savouring every gasp falling from her lips. “Fuck,” I whispered finally. My first orgasm at the hands of the Omega. I hadn’t even knotted her.

            I opened my eyes just a crack, struggling to catch my breath. Her blue eyes met mine.

            I was lost.


	14. Chapter 14

The next time they brought food, at least, we were prepared.

            “Is it drugged again?” Clarke asked with more than a little trepidation.

            “It seems like it. But you still need to eat.” I moved over to sit next to her. Her heat had finally worn off, but she still eyed me with a small smile of anticipation flickering over her features.

            “Uh-huh. And you have no ulterior motives here.” There was a slight sting to the tease. I ignored it – for now. Instead, I pulled her tray close, picking up a cube of meat and bringing it to her lips. She looked at me, startled, and I waited to hear about how she didn’t need to be _fed –_ but instead, she accepted the morsel, lips closing over my fingers.

            “Good girl,” I whispered. Knowing about the aphrodisiac drenching each bite I gave her shifted the power away from Cage – and to me.

            I fed her another few morsels like that, watching her pupils dilate, and she licked the gravy from my fingertips. “What about you, Lexa?”

            “Hmm?”

            “When did you last eat?”

            “I…” I wasn’t actually sure. Now that I thought about it, it’d probably been too long. “I don’t know.”

            Clarke got a wicked look in her eyes, and she picked up the hunk of bread, tearing off a piece and holding it to my lips. I opened my mouth in protest, and she pushed it into my mouth, brushing her fingers over my tongue. I moaned despite myself, and sucked greedily on my fingers.

            “I want you in heat this time,” she teased. “Besides, you need to eat.”

            It was hard to keep the seriousness of our situation in mind when she was taunting me like _that._ “Well. If you insist.”

            _Don’t be so foolish. She has her own goals. Don’t forget that._

I opened my mouth and let her feed me some of the meat. It wasn’t long before the drug started making its way through my system, and the flush rose to my face before I had even registered what was happening. Everything felt _hot._ “Clarke…” I half-purred, leaning against her.

            “Haha. You’re a mess.”

            “Mmm…” I opened my mouth, and she fed me some more, scratching my belly and laughing some more as I responded.

            “Well, now that I’ve got you in the same position, how about you answer some of _my_ questions?” she said with a smile.

            …

            Oh, the _bitch._

“What if I don’t want to?” I mewled. Although I wasn’t annoyed enough to move away from her. She’d moved up to scratching behind my ears.

            “Then I’ll be sad. And I won’t do anything about your heat when it comes.”

            “It’s _rut,_ not heat.”

            “That’s a question I didn’t even think about. Thank you.”

            I growled under my breath. I would have claimed I didn’t like how manipulative she was, but it was honestly rather attractive. “Fine,” I hissed.

            “Alright. Why is getting me pregnant such a big deal?”

            Dammit. She was going straight for the hard-hitting questions. I tried for a half-truth. “If they want me to breed with you, how good can it be?”

            “Oh, I think there’s more to it than that.” She scratched under my chin, stroking my jugular in a way that was both very erotic and _extremely_ threatening. “What are you to the Grounders?”

            I wiggled my shoulders. The drugs felt like somebody had cracked an egg on my head and let it trickle down my scalp. “…Important.”

            “Important?”

            I caved. “I’m the Heda. Leader of all twelve clans.” I was already slapping myself. _Idiot! IDIOT! No sex is worth revealing that!_

 _Tell that to the hormones,_ was the Alpha’s response. I… didn’t have much of an answer to that. It kind of had a point.

            Clarke nodded thoughtfully. “That explains a lot. Does Cage know?”

            I sighed. “…Sort of. I don’t think he understands the importance of it.” To be fair, I wasn’t sure _she_ did either. Explaining Nightbloods, the Flame, and the process of reincarnation to Mountain Men or Sky People seemed like a waste of resources. I _lived_ it; the most they could do was hear about it.

            “Hmm. Are your people arranging a trade for you?”

            The thought honestly hadn’t occurred to me. “No. I was expected to die in battle. Now they wait for me to die and pass the spirit of the Commander onto somebody else.”

            “ _What?_ ”

            I blinked up at her. “You seem startled.”

            “They won’t even _try_ to rescue you?”

            “How could they? Did you see the mountain before you were captured? This place is undefeatable.”

            “Nowhere is undefeatable.”

            I paused. The drugs were doing their work and distracting me, but at the same time – “You’re right. The mountain is undefeatable – from the outside.”

            She paused. Then she glanced up at the camera. “Uh – new question,” she said nervously. She was changing the topic. Which meant she’d understood me. “Have you ever…” Then suddenly _she_ was flushing. “Um. Have.”

            I nuzzled her cheek. “Spit it out.”

            “Have you ever bred anybody before?”

            I laughed. Such a funny thing to get all twitchy about! “No, I haven’t. As the Heda I have to be very careful. I’ve been on suppressants all my life.”

            “You – wait, really?” She scowled at me. “You mean you’ve been on the same stuff _I_ have?”

            “Yes. That’s how I knew about it.”

            She tugged – playfully – on my hair. “And you were _lecturing_ me.”

            I just sulked. Partially because we were bantering, and bantering was a very, _very_ far cry from the uneasy truce we’d had before. I was letting my guard down, not of my own will, and I didn’t like it.

            “So that was your first time?” she asked quietly.

                 I paused. “…Not exactly,” I murmured. “I’ve –“ But then I shook my head. Even drugged, I wasn’t ready to talk about Costia.

Clarke respected that, at least.

"Any more questions?" I asked, voice a little colder than I meant it to be even through the slur of the drugs.

"No. That's alright." Then she kissed my forehead, sending another rush of warmth through me. She picked up her own tray of food and started eating, seemingly uncaring of the aphrodisiacs it was soaked in.

I gulped. I was playing a _dangerous_ game.

"I'm going to let them take me for tests, this time," she said, almost matter-of-factly.

"Wh- _what?_ "

She swallowed her mouthful of food. "Thank you for stopping them, before. But I need to get a good sense of what they're after."

Clarke was making perfect sense, of course, but the jealousy surged up in me anyway. Jealousy, and... was it _fear?_ I could still feel Dr. Tsing's hands on me. I didn't want that happening to Clarke. But if she was willingly going... "Please be careful," I murmured.

"Careful what you say, Heda," she said teasingly. The title made me flush even worse than I had before. "Talk like that will make me think you care."


	15. Chapter 15

My rut hit me properly a few hours later. At first I thought I was fine - but then everything, _everything_ was too sensitive - the hospital gown brushing over my nipples, the floor under my hands, the fabric brushing over my shaft. I was erect, _again._ I supposed I should probably resign myself to that being a semi-permanent state. But the worst was the heat. I felt like I was burning up from the inside out.

“Clarke,” I mewled softly, tugging at my gown and trying to get rid of it. I didn’t care about the cameras. Between the drugs and her presence – the _smell_ of her – I couldn’t do this. Every time I thought I could“Clarke,” I mewled softly, tugging at my gown and trying to get rid of it. I didn’t care about the cameras. Between the drugs and her presence – the smell of her – I couldn’t do this. Every time I thought I could hold on, every time I thought I could manage to keep myself together, something happened to make me unravel again. I wanted my suppressants. I also wanted to fuck Clarke until she screamed my name, I wanted to breed her until she snapped, I wanted -

-god, I didn't know _what_ I wanted. So when Clarke came over to me, whispering soft comforts, pulling the gown off my arms and over my head, I let her. I had too many voices pulling me this way and that. Too many things to consider. "I want you," I whispered. It was the only certainty. What was the _point?_ She was the only thing that existed in this tiny room. The rest was shade and shadow.

"Shh, shh. It hurts, doesn't it."

I nodded. It felt good, too. But it _hurt._ To have her so close - to feel every cell of my body crying out for _touch,_ for attention, for release -

"I'm here," she whispered. "So come and take me."

I didn't need to be asked twice. I pushed her to the wall. She'd already taken her clothes off - I could feel the stickiness on her fingers where she'd been playing with herself, and I licked them clean, pinning her by the wrist to the wall. She pushed back against me, hips rolling as her ass rubbed against my shaft, and I bit the back of her neck, shoving her legs roughly apart and pushing myself into her. I was too far gone to care about being gentle, or slow - I was _taking_ her, this time.

I slammed my length into her, moaning into the back of her neck, and a cry left her lips. "F-fuck! More - please -"

"What do you say?" I breathed into her ear.

She shivered. "P-please fuck me harder - Heda -"

I grabbed her by the hip, pushing her flush against the wall and taking a hold of her tangle of blonde hair. Then I began to fuck her properly, my hips grinding into her, my fingers twining with hers. She was moaning half in pain, half in pleasure - I wasn't sure she could tell the difference, or if it mattered. I was going to knot her no matter what.

I clung to her, resisting the urge to bite deeply enough to mark her. Instead I dug my nails into her wrist as I came, knot swelling inside her cunt and sealing myself inside her. I could hear her breaths, jagged and rough as she tried to relax, and I licked a bead of sweat from her cheek. "Good girl," I whispered. But even as I did, underneath the afterglow and still locked into her, I started to realize what she'd done. What _I'd_ done.

She was playing games with me. And I was letting her.


	16. Chapter 16

They came for her again the next morning, probably after watching our mating on the cameras, and I dug my teeth into the inside of my cheek to stop myself from doing anything stupid. They were _touching_ her. They were taking what was mine.

                The Flame kept me down. Clarke had a plan. And while I didn’t trust her as far as I could throw her – as much as I wanted to – I owed her this much. _Watch. Wait. See what happens._

                It didn’t stop my heart from trying to tear itself out from my chest as I watched them lead her away. She’d put her clothes back on. The fact that she was allowed to keep herself dressed wasn’t lost on me, and I wondered how they were treating the rest of the Sky People. Certainly better than they treated their Grounders.

                I sighed, and leaned my head back against the wall. I could smell Cage and Tsing coming before I heard them, but I didn’t move. I was too tired for that. Tired of responsibility, tired of keeping myself stifled and bound, tired of being the leader.

                I’d never wished I _wasn’t_ Heda before last night. It wasn’t a feeling I particularly enjoyed.

                “It didn’t take long for you to cave,” Cage commented, foot nudging against my leg. “And a right mess you are, too. Naked, sweaty, and with that… _thing_ between your legs.”

                “It’s called a clitoris,” I sighed, not even opening my eyes. I was _especially_ tired of him. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen many of them.”

                There was a brief scuffle, and I opened one eye, trying not to smile as I watched Dr. Tsing trying to hold Cage back. He brushed her off, then glared at me. “You can keep being feisty as long as you like.”

                “This is _very_ far from feisty, Cage. This is me not giving a shit.”

                He didn’t respond to that. Probably because he realized I was more dangerous when I didn’t give a shit. Dr. Tsing had certainly put that together – she was edging towards the door.

                But Cage, idiot that he was, squatted down next to me, grin on his face. “You should be _flattered,_ Lexa. You’ll be the… mother? Father? Whatever it is. You’ll be the progenitor of our new master race.”

                I opened my eyes, looked interested and leaned forward. “Really?”

                He nodded. He loved it when people listened to him. “Between your and Clarke’s genes, we’ll –“ He stopped talking after that, because I’d sprung forward and dug my teeth into the front of his throat.

                A shot rang out by my ear, and I backed off quickly, but the taste of blood was in my mouth, and Cage was pressing his hand to his throat with an expression of horror on his face. “You –“ he mouthed, but nothing came out. Looked like I’d gotten his voicebox rather than his jugular, but I was happy with either, really. As long as he shut up.

                “Sir, time to get out of here.”

                He nodded, and clung to the security guard who tugged him to his feet. I grinned at him – and behind him, I caught a glimpse of Clarke, not yet pulled away for experiments. She gave me a quick nod of approval. Good.

                Although I’d feel better if I’d killed the son of the bitch.

                Clarke came back a few hours later, shaking and her clothes even more rumpled. I reached out for her to comfort her, but she shook her head and sat on the bed, arms by her sides. “I’m fine,” she lied.

                I sat crosslegged on the ground by her feet. “Alright.”

                Then she smiled. “There’s blood on your lips.”

                “Good. It’ll keep him scared.”

                She chuckled, tucking some of her blonde hair behind her ear. “Teeth and claws, huh?”

                I shrugged. “A warrior doesn’t stop being a warrior when her weapons are taken away. Weapons are just an extension of the arms, the arms are an extension of the fighting soul inside.”

                “While the flame burns, the fight goes on.”

                I started at the reference to flame. Then I nodded. “That’s right.”

                Her eyes were blazing. “I found my friends.” Then her mouth twisted into a smile that had once been warm, once been soft, but now was all hard edges and determination and a hatred that had been slowly kindling beneath the surface. “And I’m ready to fight.”


End file.
